27Oct16

Taliban overruns military base in Uruzgan

The Taliban took control of a military base in the embattled southern province
of Uruzgan, where the group has recently laid siege to the capital of Tarin Kot.

The jihadist group claimed it took control of the "strategic military base in
Khushdeer" and two others in Chora district after Afghan troops were
surrounded and then subsequently "fled towards the district center."

In a statement released on its website, Voice of Jihad, the Taliban showed a
picture of the base with the Taliban's flag flying over it.

On Twitter, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid then released a video of an
interview of fighters from the base (video is below). Like the recent ambush in
Helmand's capital, the Taliban fighters clearly are not concerned about either
an Afghan Army counterattack or airstrikes. The interview takes place in broad
daylight, hours after the base was overrun (the Taliban claimed the Afghan
troops fled during the nighttime).

Uruzgan has been hotly contested for more than a year. Of the province's six
districts, one, Char Chino, is under Taliban control, and the remaining five are
heavily contested. The Taliban seized Char Chino in June 2016 after Afghan
forces conducted a tactical retreat.

The Taliban considers Uruzgan to be a strategic province, and has previously
said that it controls all areas of the province except for the district centers.

In a Voice of Jihad interview in April 2016 with Mullah Aminullah Yousuf, the
Taliban's shadow governor for Uruzgan, he described the province as "the
linking point for many provinces" and a traditional "strong fortress of
mujahideen."

[Source: By Bill Roggio, Threat Matrix, The Long War Journal, NJ, 27Oct16]

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